December 5, 2002

TO THE SCOUSE DISTINCTION

February 25th, 2003 could be the day of George Harrison‘s 60th birthday that the artist, sadly, never reached. Yet, to make it a bit warmer to all who miss The Quiet One sorely, there’s a bit of consolation, as on that date a tribute album to George is due out. Called “Songs From The Material World,” it’ll feature the following songs and performers:

1. I Want to Tell You – THE SMITHEREENS
2. Devil’s Radio – MASTERS OF REALITY
3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Todd Rundgren
4. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) – Dave Davies
5. I, Me, Mine – Marc Ford
6. Within You, Without You – Big Head Todd and THE MONSTERS
7. It’s All Too Much – Wayne Kramer
8. Isn’t It A Pity – Jay Bennett and Edward Burch
9. Old Brown Shoe – Leslie West
10. Here Comes the Sun – John Entwistle
11. Savoy Truffle – THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
12. Something – Bonnie Bramlett

Meanwhile, November 29th saw a grandiose concert held at the Royal Albert Hall, an event marking the frist year since ‘s passing. Great as it was, there’s no question the show will be released on DVD, at least, any day soon, so it’ll make sense to be salivating looking at the heavy guests’ list, and here they are – the songs according to the lead singer:

I Want To Tell You – Jeff Lynne
If I Needed Someone – Eric Clapton and Jeff Lynne
Old Brown Shoe – Gary Brooker with Eric Clapton
Give Me Love – Jeff Lynne
Beware Of Darkness – Eric Clapton
Here Comes The Sun – Joe Brown
Thats the Way it Goes – Joe Brown
Horse To The Water – Sam Brown with Jools Holland
Taxman – Tom Petty & HEARTBREAKERS
I Need You – Tom Petty & HEARTBREAKERS
Handle With Care – Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne
Isnt It A Pity – Eric Clapton with Billy Preston
Photograph – Ringo Starr
Honey Don’t – Ringo Starr
For You Blue – Paul McCartney
Something – Paul McCartney
All Things Must Pass – Paul McCartney and Jeff Lynne
While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Eric Clapton
My Sweet Lord – Billy Preston
Wah Wah – Jeff Lynne with EricClapton
See You in My Dreams – Joe Brown

IN FOR THE CLASSICS

The very same day that the George Harrison tribute concert was taking place, there was another great event there, in London. Spread over November 29th and 30th, the Classic Rock Festival included performances by the JOHN LAWTON band, URIAH HEEP and ASIA, with John Wetton and one of the IRON MAIDEN guys in attendance.
To be more precise, that was the British leg of the festival born of traditional HEEP-centered The Magician’s Birthday Party. This time though, the event took on a special meaning for ASIA celebrating their 20th anniversary, and that’s why Chris Slade got invited to be drumming. The show was caught on tape during the American leg, on October 5th and 6th in Trenton, New Jersey, and it to be released early in 2003 as “America: Live In The USA” with the following songs therein:

Disc 1:
1. The Heat Goes On
2. Days Like These
3. Awake
4. Arena
5. Military Man
6. Wherever You Are
7. Who Will Stop The Rain
8. Bad Asteroid
9. Don’t Cry
Disc 2:
10. Kings Of The Day
11. Geoff Downes solo:
– Cutting It Fine / Bolero / Electroglide
12. John Payne solo:
– Love Under Fire / Sad Situation / Longest Night
13. Ready To Go Home
14. Sole Survivor
15. Free
16. Only Time Will Tell
17. Go
18. Heat of the Moment.

As of John Wetton, his new solo album, "Rock Of Faith", is out on in Europe on February 14th through Giant Electric Pea. Featuring Ian McDonald, Geoff Downes and Richard Palmer-James and mixed at the Abbey Road studios, it must come out huge. On the downside, the Wetton / Downes concert scheduled for December 21st at “The Mean Fiddler,” is unlikely to be played.

Back to URIAH HEEP, the band’s acoustic and electric performances recorded at the Classic Rock Festival are to be released in CD and DVD formats in 2003 as well. In their unique tradition, HEEP did some songs not played for a long time if at all, such as “The Other Side Of Midnight,” “Seven Stars,” “Shadows Of Grief” and “Pilgrim.” To bide the waiting time, some may stick to the band’s early albums currently being repackaged by Terrapin Music as special expanded deluxe collectors editions. Newly remastered from the original master tapes of both UK and US editions, with enhanced 20-page booklet and sprinkled with bonus tracks, the CDs set to tease those who already have the whole HEEP catalogue remastered. But if one’s to buy the new ones, the bonus material is like this:

“Very ‘Eavy Very ‘Umble”:
– Bird Of Prey (US album mix)
– Born In A Trunk (previously unreleased vocal version)
– Born In A Trunk (previously unreleased instr. version)
– Come Away Melinda (alternate version)
– Gypsy (alternate mix)
– Wake Up (Set Your Sights) (previously unreleased version)
– Dreamare (1970 BBC session)
– Gypsy (1970 BBC session)
– Lucy Blues (1970 BBC session)

and

“Salisbury”:
– Simon The Bullet Freak (US album version)
– Here Am I (out-take, previously unreleased version)
– Lady In Black (previously unreleased version)
– plus more

Also up for taking is URIAH HEEP’s “Gypsy – Live 1985” DVD featuring the line-up of Mick Box, Lee Kerslake, Trevor Bolder, John Sinclair and Peter Goalby and track-by-track audio review from rock journalist Dave Ling:

1. Sell Your Soul
2. Stealin’
3. Other Side Of Midnight
4. Too Scared To Run
5. Rockarama
6. Angel
7. The Wizard
8. Bad Blood
9. Gypsy
10. Easy Livin’
11. That’s The Way That It Is
12. Look At Yourself

With all the interest stirred by the DVD, it doesn’t look as the HEEP-approved, as is material being put out by Classic Rock Productions. The enterprise announced the upcoming titles of their catalogue now which, beside ASIA and URIAH HEEP releases will include the CD / DVD sets from FOCUS, one with early tracks on, and the other containing the live recordings of the band’s show at Trenton (FOCUS didn’t make it to the British part of the Classic Rock Festival due to technical problems), and the early ’90s sets from MAGNUM and BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST. No details on these yet, but there are some on a couple of others.

The one by ATOMIC ROOSTER has rare 1972’s footage on it featuring Chris Farlowe:

1. Breakthrough
2. Black Snake
3. A Spoonful of Bromide Helps The Pulse Rate Go Down
4. Can’t Find A Reason
5. The Rock

The CURVED AIR one is sourced from 1972 as well featuring Sonja Kristina, Daryl Way, Francis Monkman, Mike Wedgewood and Florian Pilkington Miksa:

1. Marie Antoinette
2. Propositions
3. Melinda More Or Less
4. Vivaldi
extra feature:
Daryl Way interview

And there’s something from the mighty heavyweights BLACK SABBATH“Inside Black Sabbath” is a visual master class with Tony Iommi who, with his own examples, reveals the band’s kitchen secrets. Still, it’s not for musicians only as the DVD contains live archive footage and previously unreleased promo videos of “Headless Cross” and “Feels Good To Me.”

1. Black Sabbath
2. Paranoid
3. Headless Cross
4. Orchid
5. Feels Good To Me
6. Laguna Sunrise
7. Embryo
8. Smoke On The Water

MORE OR LESS COLOSSAL THINGS

Angel Air widens the spectrum of their catalogue and dives into the DVD pool with the titles no less intriguing than the ones the British label releases on CD. The most intriguing performances to see the light of day in the near future are two. The first, the complete version of Eddie Hardin‘s “Wind In The Willows” recorded live in 1991 with an all-star cast including Donovan, Tony Ashton, Jon Lord, Graham Bonnet, Zak Starkey, Don Airey, Denny Laine, Ray Fenwick, Maggie Bell and Danny Thompson. An excellent show, capped with “Love Is All” Hardin co-wrote with Roger Glover for the PURPLE bass player’s “The Butterfly Ball” album.

1. Wind In The Willows (Main Theme)
2. Good Morning To You
3. I’ve Forgotten How To Smile
4. Fairground Fantasy
5. The Wild Wood
6. The Badger
7. Looking Forward To Tomorrow
8. The Life We Left Behind
9. Badger’s Theme
10. Maggie’s Theme
11. Mr Toad’s Theme
12. Don’t Seem Like Progress To Me
13. Can Dreams Come True
14. Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
15. Why Can’t We Go Home
16. Wayfarers All
17. Wind In The Willows (Reprise)
bonus track:
18. Love Is All

The second gem comes from COLOSSEUM being the second concert of the band’s reunion tour of June 1994 and featuring the classic line-up of Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Clem Clempson, Dave Greenslade, Chris Farlowe and Mark Clarke, joined by Danny Lyons and Dylan Amey. The bonus, a 90-minute “Story Of COLOSSEUM” documentary, makes it all even more valuable.

1. Those About To Die
2. Skelington
3. Elegy
4. Tanglewood ’63
5. The Valentyne Suite:
a) January’s Search
b) February’s Valentyne
c) The Grass Is Always Greener
6. Rope Ladder To The Moon
7. Theme For An Imaginary Western
8. The Machine Demands Another Sacrifice
9. Solo Colonia
10. Lost Angeles
11. Stormy Monday Blues
12. Walking In The Park extra features:
The story of COLOSSEUM

RIDING THE COLOSSUS

Steve Hackett have all the reasons to be happy getting a hold of “Somewhere In South America… Live in Buenos Aires,” an amazing addition to the great musician’s catalogue. Shot at Buenos Aires’ Teatro Coliseo in 2001, the 105 minutes of magnificent performance including several previously unheard songs, are to be available in four different formats: December 9th will see the release of a VHS video and a 2CD digipack, while on January 27th debuts the edition comprised of DVD and 2 CDs in a 3-disc boxed digipack. The DVD sound is 5.1 Dolby Digital audio and there’s a bonus called “Somewhere In Italy,” a documentary with backstage footage and interviews shot in 2000.

1. The Floating Seventh
2. Mechanical Bride
3. Medley:
– Serpentine Song
– Watcher Of The Skies
– Hairless Heart
– Firth Of Firth
4. Riding The Colossus
5. Pollution
6. The Steppes
7. Gnossienne #1
8. Walking Away From Rainbows
9. Sierra Quemada
10. The Wall Of Knives
11. Vampyre With A Healthy Appetite
12. A Tower Struck Down
13. Lucridus
14. Darktown
15. Camino Royale
16. In Memoriam
17 Horizons
18. Los Endos

December 5, 2002

Category(s): News

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